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OpenAI Academy: Offers free API credits, training, and support for developers, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Researcher Access Program: Provides free API access for early-stage researchers.
Note: So… Answer from polepole on community.openai.com
Reddit
reddit.com › r/n8n › how can i benefit from the free api credits from openai?
r/n8n on Reddit: How can I benefit from the free API credits from OpenAI?
April 21, 2025 -
Hey guys - I know that there was (sometime ago) the possibility of getting your hands on some free credits for OpenAI api. I want to start working with n8n and I'm quite strapped for cash now.
I haven't seen any kind of new offers on the OpenAI chat and I was wondering if the promos are off the table or are available in some dark corner of the internet?
Thanks!
EDIT: Thank you all for your great inputs!
Top answer 1 of 10
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If you're trying to explore AI + n8n without spending much (or anything), here's what actually works right now: OpenAI still provides free tokens if you enable "share data for training" in your settings. Just make sure your account has a positive balance — even a small one — or the tokens won’t apply. OpenRouter has a bunch of models you can use without an API key. You can send HTTP requests directly from n8n. Models like LLaMA, DeepSeek, MythoMax, and others are available for free. Gemini API from Google gives free access to Gemini Flash (2.5). You can use it with an API key via Google AI Studio — generous daily limits and solid speed. Hugging Face offers some free inference credits if you're on a Pro plan. Not huge, but good enough for testing out flows. With this stack, you can already build working automations and demos without needing any paid API plans.
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Openrouter has a lot of free models you can try out.
Videos
02:15
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How to Get an OpenAI/ChatGPT API Key - 2025 Updated
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How to Buy OpenAI API Credits (2025) - YouTube
Architjn
architjn.com › blog › free-openai-api-credits-how-to-get-and-use
Free OpenAI API Credits: Get & Use Guide
March 24, 2025 - Consistent results.Open Veo 3 JSON ... and completions (outputs) with OpenAI. Initially planned to run until February 28, 2025, the program has now been extended until April 30, 2025 (source)....
AI Free API
aifreeapi.com › en › posts › openai-api-key-how-to-get
How to Get OpenAI API Key: Complete 2025 Guide with $5 Free Credits - Get OpenAI API Key: Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners (2025) | AI Free API
July 16, 2025 - Note for 2025: OpenAI has simplified the signup process and now offers $5 in free credits to all new users, making it easier than ever to get started.
Ramp
ramp.com › rewards › openai
Access up to $2500 in OpenAI API credits
Start hiring internationally with $1,500 in Deel credits! ... Ramp customers now save up to 50% every time they ship with UPS. ... Startups can receive up to $2,500 in OpenAI API credits to explore the possibilities of building on top of the OpenAI platform.
OpenAI Developer Community
community.openai.com › api
Does OpenAI give free 100$ Free Usage Limit? - API - OpenAI Developer Community
December 31, 2024 - Is it true? If so, why I don’t see it at my billing pages?
AI Free API
aifreeapi.com › en › posts › openai-api-key-free-2025
Free OpenAI API Keys in 2025: Complete Guide to No-Cost AI Access - Get Free OpenAI API Credits & Alternative Options for 2025 | AI Free API
January 16, 2025 - Q: Is OpenAI API completely free? A: No, but new users get $5 in free credits valid for 3 months.
OpenAI Developer Community
community.openai.com › api
Issue with Receiving Free Credit on OpenAI Account - API - OpenAI Developer Community
March 20, 2024 - I created an OpenAI account but did not receive the $5 free credit. The phone number I used is clean, meaning it is not associated with any other account. I am 100% certain of this. Additionally, the email address I used…
OpenAI Developer Community
community.openai.com › t › didn-t-receive-any-free-trial-credits › 693150
Didn’t receive any free trial credits? - Community - OpenAI Developer Community
March 21, 2024 - Hello. I’ve been trying to make an account to try the API since I knew OpenAI had a free trial, and went for it. But somehow every time I created a new account (which I created like 4 more to see if it would be fixed but…
FastGPTPlus
fastgptplus.com › en › posts › gpt-5-2-api-credit-grants
GPT-5.2 API Credit Grants: Complete Guide to Free OpenAI Credits in 2025 | FastGPTPlus
1 week ago - Individual researchers can apply for up to $1,000 through the Researcher Access Program with 12-month validity. Startups can access $2,500 via the Ramp partnership, while educational institutions receive up to 11 ...
FastGPTPlus
fastgptplus.com › en › posts › openai-api-key-free
How to Get OpenAI API Key for Free in 2025: Complete Guide & Alternatives | FastGPTPlus
August 21, 2025 - However, qualified educational institutions can access up to 11 million free tokens daily through OpenAI for Education until April 30, 2025, while developers can explore alternatives like Microsoft Azure credits or affordable API gateways such ...
OpenAI Developer Community
community.openai.com › api
Free tokens on traffic shared with OpenAI extended through April 30, 2025! - API - OpenAI Developer Community
February 25, 2025 - Hello, In December 2024, we launched a program where organizations that opted in to share prompts and completions with OpenAI could receive up to 11 million free tokens per day on traffic shared with OpenAI—1 million shared across GPT-4o, ...
OpenAI Developer Community
community.openai.com › api
Is there a free trial or developer credits for entrepreneurs? - API - OpenAI Developer Community
July 9, 2025 - I am developing a web app that allows users to upload their resume and with a prompt using OpenAI’s API and ‘role-play’ feature asking ChatGPT to act as a professioanl web developer and create a full HTML and CSS code to…
OpenAI Developer Community
community.openai.com › api
Still stuck in Free tier after adding credits (spike since Aug 28, 2025) - API - OpenAI Developer Community
August 29, 2025 - Hi all, I added $5 in API credits yesterday and expected to move to Usage Tier 1. Billing shows Paid, but my account is still in Free. What I tried • Waited 6+ hours • Logged out and back in, hard refreshed • Created a new API key after payment What I see • Limits page: Current tier = Free • API returns 429 like: “Rate limit reached for gpt-4o-mini on requests per min (RPM): Limit 3. Please try again in 20s.” Questions Is anyone else seeing this since Aug 28, 2025?
OpenAI Developer Community
community.openai.com › api
Does even today openai provides free api credits? - API - OpenAI Developer Community
April 20, 2023 - I was wondering if I make a new account on openai will I get free credits or have they provided this earlier and now they have stopped it?
GitHub
github.com › orgs › community › discussions › 181068
How to get free OpenAI API credits for testing and development projects · community · Discussion #181068
As of late 2025: • OpenAI no longer hands out automatic free credits just for creating a new API account. You normally have to add a payment method and prepay a small amount before you can call the API.
ChatGPT
chatgpt.com › pricing
ChatGPT Plans | Free, Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise
Yes. Through OpenAI for Nonprofits, nonprofits can now access a 20% discount on ChatGPT Business ($20 per month per user for the annual plan and $24 per month per user for the monthly plan).
Cursor IDE
cursor-ide.com › blog › how-to-get-openai-api-key-free-2025
Complete Guide to OpenAI API Access: Free Trials, Alternatives & Cost-Effective Solutions 2025 - Cursor IDE 博客
August 21, 2025 - If you're searching for how to ... careful understanding to use effectively. Here's what OpenAI actually offers new users: a $5 trial credit that expires after three months....
OpenAI Developer Community
community.openai.com › api
OpenAI API usage limit for free account - API - OpenAI Developer Community
January 2, 2025 - I am new in this development field, and i am facing issue while using OenAI API, I have attached the screenshot of postman, and in my usage dashboard it shows 0$/5$. Do i need to add credits before using it or we ge…